GFH3 Run #1,690; 30 March 2013

Another warm, sunny spring day, perfect for bicycling the W&OD trail out to Leesburg.  So why was it only Byte Me who chose that transportation method?  She got to Rough Cut's first, and perched on the beer cooler awaiting the arrivals, by car and a couple motorcycles, of about 25 hashers.  Rough Cut and Easy Strider actually were the third or fourth group to join the party, and the only ones to do so lightly dusted with flour.  The Chugger was the only one to do so heavily bandaged about the left thumb, with some kind of hand-and-wrist guard protecting his still-tender nerves and digits.  That took some of the surprise out of the get-well-soon card the Mufti was passing around, but as he pointed out, also saved the hash cash the cost of a stamp.  Plus, we get the pleasure of Chugger's company, so yay.

A whole lot of lessons to us all.

After about the briefest brief in history, which was mostly a couple of jokes about old vs. new flour (Hillbilly Hash had apparently run by recently), a single runner headed into Leesburg, while the other dozen or so stood about in the sun looking at each other.  Someone said, "get running," and the runners started saying things like, "Are we going?"  "What, now?" and "Was that it?", and gradually they all headed into the street.  Then it was the walkers' turn to confab, wondering if they should take the trail or head into town, and eventually they split up; some heading one way and some heading another.  To the best of my knowledge, no one headed straight for the bar at Tuscarora Mill.

Most of the walkers were back within an hour.  The runners spent more like 90 minutes, finishing up with a brief jog along the W&OD, staying well to the right to avoid the many cyclists enjoying the weather, and a short scramble down to the creek and a quick hop across it.  Per Air Horn, "It was a good trail - a bit long, maybe - but that's because we kept screwing up."

The thing is, if you actually run, you don't get to enjoy the weather for as long.

And it was a  good supper, courtesy of Papa John's, with supplemental snacks scattered around the office.  Many of them offered an Easter-y theme, with pastel-wrapped candies in abundance, and the usual beverages.  Mufti forced everyone indoors for the roll, which included the 1,313th run for Air Horn (double 13s) and 44th for Greg.  Ooooooh.  Plus we had three newcomers, though two of them had the sense to sneak away before roll call.  Shortly after that, Rough Cut remembered the cupcakes, each one decorated with a plastic ring (for your finger); some bunnies, some duckies and some lambikins.  What fun!

And now INDY has just shouted from another room that To Bea or Not to Bea phoned from Arizona to wish the GFH3, individually and severally, a happy Easter.  Seconded.  For photos, click here.